KATHMANDU, JULY 19

Nepal Police has arrested a man on the charge of kidnapping and subsequently murdering his nephew, Rohit Gupta, 11, 13 years ago. Victim was the son of an Indian businessman based in Kathmandu.

The arrested has been identified as Ramesh Kumar Gupta, 45, a permanent resident of Mujjafapur Nagar of Bihar, India. He was arrested yesterday from Malangwa of Sarlahi district, a town on Nepal-India border, by the officials from Metropolitan Crime Division, Kathmandu.

Ramesh and his Nepali accomplice, Bishnu Sunar had allegedly kidnapped and killed the 11-years-old boy in 13 October 2007, at around 5:00pm. Sunar worked for the father of the kid, Basudev Gupta of Sitamadi, of Bihar in India.

On the fateful day, the alleged murderer lured his nephew to his godown at Khichapokhari in Newroad on the pretext of teaching him some magic tricks. Few hours later, an unknown person called the parents of the boy demanding ransom in exchange for their son. Gullible parents subsequently asked Gupta and Sunar to deliver Rs 200,000 to the kidnappers.

Ramesh lied to his brother-in-law saying that he met the kidnappers near Thankot check-post and handed over the money to them whereas he had divided the money between him and Sunar. He also said that the kidnappers, who were inside a taxi, had left the scene immediately after receiving the money. The parents grew all the more anxious as the kidnappers did not free their son even after the ransom was paid and refrained from contacting them.

Three days after the ransom was paid, body of the boy was found on the road side on the pile of garbage, near Kamaladi Ganesh temple, a few kilometers west from where the boy was kidnapped. The boy was murdered a few hours after he was kidnapped.

The kidnappers, in their attempt to silence the boy, had strangulated him to death. The duo had hired a porter to carry the body wrapped in plastic saying that was electronic waste, which was to be dumped on the roadside garbage.

Ramesh misled the police and the aggrieved parents through his active participation in the search for the culprits. A few weeks later, he slipped to India. On November 27, police arrested Sunar in connection with the crime, who is now serving his time in prison. Sunar briefed the police about Ramesh, the mastermind of the crime. Superintendent of Police Ishwor Karki, of MCD, Kathmandu, said the police had continued the hunt for the absconder and they were finally successful to arrest him.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 20, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.